Folding chair.



L. A. LAGERSTROM.

FOLDING CHAIR APPLlCATlON FILED MAY 3.1916.

LA. LeeERsTRoM Gum LEANDER A. LAGERSIROM, OF BRANFORD, CONNECTICUT.

FOLDING CHAIR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 20, 1917.

Application filed May 3, 1916. Serial No. 95,195.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEANDER A. 'LAGER- sTRoM, a citizen of the'Unite'd States, residing at Branford, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have in-- the arm also folds-up and when the seatv is folded down the arm will be extended into operative position.

A further object is' to provide atheater seat with a single arm foldable intoand out of operative position by the folding of the seat so that when the seats are placed together in rows, the single arm of one seat will act also as the arm of the next adjacent seat.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

igure 1 is a perspective View of two of my improved chairs;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the chair;

Fig. 3 is a face View of the chair shown in Fig. 1, one of the seats being shown as raised and the other seat being lowered and in section;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the seat and link 19;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the arm 17 Referring to these figures, 10 designates the seat back which may be made of any suitable material and in any suitable'manner but is preferably made in the form ordinarily found in theater seats, that is, as a more or less open framework which is attached to the floor of the theater or other auditorium by screws, the framework of one seat being connected to the framework of the seat adjacent. This supporting frame is formed.to provide a back and is also provided with the outwardly projecting ears 11. The seat 12 at its rear end is formed with the laterally disposed projecting ears 13 and'through the ears 11 and 13 passes the pintle 14. Made part of thesupporting frame of the seat and projecting upward therefrom is a supporting bracket 15 which is cut away to permit the passage of the pintle 1% and which supports the seat when the seat is'turned down into a horizontal position.

The back 10 is formed with an ear 16 on one side and to this ear is pivoted the arm 17, this arm being formed with a downwardly extending flange through which the pivot pin passes, this flange being longitudinally slotted as at 18, said slot being downwardly angled at its extremity as at 18 A link 19 has a studded head at its upper end sliding within the slot 19' and at its lower end thislink 19 is pivotally connected to a bar "20 which passes across the under face of the seator is otherwise attached thereto and ha'sone end upwardly extended.

and connected to the link 19 by means of a bolt, pin or other pivotal connection. The pivotal joint between the link 19 and the bar 20' is sufliciently stiff so as to resist rotational movement of the link 19 and assist in raising the arm when the seat is raised. In other words, as the seat moves upward rotating upon its pivot 11, the link 19 will be held in'a position at right angles to the seat 12, until the seat and arm have reached such an angular position that the pivot pin connecting the link 19 with the arm 17 may slide downward in the slot 18.

The downwardly angled end 18 of the slot 18 acts to resist the rearward movement of the pivot pin connecting the link 19 to the arm 17 so that when the arm 17 is moved upward, rearward movement of this pivot pin will be resisted and the pivot pin will remain in the forward end of the slot as the seat and arm move upward until a point is reached where the pivot pincommences to move downward because of the The turning V one of these arms will be foldable with the seat to which it is connected. lVith the present type of theater seats the arm does not fold up and as a consequence though the seat is folded or turned up the arm projects out into the aisle between the rows of seats and impedes the passage of persons.

It is obvious that under certain circumstances it will be necessary to provide chairs with two arms both operating in connection with the seats. I do not wish to limit myself to any specific construction of the chair back, the seat of the chair, or the arm, except as hereafter referred to in the claims, as it is obvious that the chair may be formed in any desired style.

Having described the invention, what I claim is:

1. In a chair of the character described, a back, a seat pivoted thereto for movement from a horizontal to a vertical position, means below the seat for supporting it in horizontal position, an arm pivoted to the back and having a slot extending inward from its free end, a link operatively pivoted to the seat at a point in vertical alinement with the outer end of the arm when the latter is turned to a horizontal position, the upper'end of said link having a pivot member having sliding engagement with the stop, said link having a length less than the length of the arm, and means for resisting the forward movement of the link about its pivotal connection with the seat when the latter is raised.

2. .A theater chair comprising a back disposed in approximately one plane, legs extending downward from the lower end of the back, said legs being disposed in planes at right angles to the plane of the back and projecting forward slightly beyond the back, a seat having its rear end pivoted between said legs at the upper end thereof, a seat support, supporting the seat in a horizontal position, a lug projecting out from the back above the pivotal connection on the seat, an arm having a side face disposed against the outside face of said lug and pivoted thereto, said arm having a slot eX- tending inward from the free end of the arm, a link operatively pivoted to the seat and having a pivot member at its upper end having sliding engagement in said slot of the arm, said link being less in length than the length of the arm and being pivoted to the seat in vertical alinement with the outer end of the arm when the latter is turned to a horizontal position, and

means for resisting rearward movement of the pivot member in said slot when the arm is raised.

In testimony whereof I hereunto ailix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

LEANDER A. LAGERSTROM. lVitnesses:

l VALLACE H. Foo'rn, ELLEN M. PALMER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

